There was a time when drivers had to start their car by hand (remember those old films where a glamorously dressed woman is fruitlessly turning the crank handle, and has to be assisted by a dapper gentleman?), but now even manual windows are becoming a thing of the past. Ignition keys are on the way out as well, with many new makes of car being installed with a start button.

Most of us now rely on a Sat-Nav to get us to new places, instead of the good old A to Z – and why shouldn’t we? A calm voice telling us which way to turn is much more convenient than pulling over to read a map every few miles, surely? Well, perhaps not. Is our reliance on technology making us better or worse motorists? And would we now know what to do should the said technology fail? Sat-Navs are notoriously unreliable a lot of the time, although the built-in variety are usually fairly spot-on. The dashboard variety which plug in via what will always be referred to as the cigarette lighter, but is now actually an AV input, often lead people down unsuitable roads, and, in a few instances, into lakes.

An article published on msn.com claimed that cars fitted with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) were 18 percent less likely to be involved in accidents, as the car can literally ‘take control’ in a potentially hazardous situation. The technology is becoming so popular that the government is considering introducing a £500 incentive to encourage people to buy cars with AEB brakes.

Motors Marketing Manager Stephen Jury sees a downside to AEB:

"This technology certainly saves lives, although there could be implications about the technology also causing accidents – for example, if the AEB system should erroneously detect an error, and cause the car to brake sharply for no reason. This could, in itself, cause an accident."

Autoexpress.co.uk recently discussed the new technology that car magazines are raving about – Dual Screen Technology. These devices allow the driver to see the Sat-Nav, and the passenger to watch a film, all on the same screen. While this sounds amazing, and is a stunning achievement in technology, the implications are clear – the driver could easily be distracted by the film on the screen. For the same reason that Google Glass will likely be banned on the roads, dual screen technology is probably best left alone.